Girl in My Closet
by RezleVettems
Summary: An IchigoxRukia story, this is my fourth story. Rukia and Ichigo slowly begin to realize something, despite how muchthey try to hide it.R&R!Feed me your reviews!
1. Chapter 1: Food for Her

**That Girl in My Closet**

Chapter 1: Food for Her

Ichigo quickly walked up to the front door of his tow story house and held the door opened as a short raven-haired girl walked under his arm and walked in.

"Thanks," she casually said as she dropped her backpack on the couch, plopping down onto the soft fabric and stretching her arms and legs. Karin was at a soccer game and Yuzu was on a field trip until late so the house was pretty much empty for the rest of the day.

"It's so rare that I can actually enjoy the living room! Bring me a drink." Rukia commanded as her hand searched for the remote. Little did she know that Ichigo hated being ordered around.

"Get it your damn self." He said as he walked up the stairs to his room, his backpack leaning off his shoulders.

"Whatever. Don't need to get so pissed." She said, getting up and leaving her state of serenity. The truth of the situation is that Ichigo had a reputation to maintain, being ordered around by a tick wasn't part of it.

After a few minutes passed he came back downstairs, only to have a pillow smack him across his head and send him crashing into the wall.

"What the shit was that for?!"

Rukia leaked out her devilish grin as she stared at him from the couch, her large heads peeking from behind the couch.

"For being rude."

"What?! I'm not rude! Where is this coming from?!" he questioned, pointing at her as if to blame her for something.

"All I asked for was a drink and you resorted to a monkey-like state of mannerism. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."

"What?! You could have gotten it yourself! And I don't need a girlfriend! Thank God you didn't draw a crappy picture to show me!"

"Actually, I did. See!" she revealed as she presented her masterpiece.

A tree with an orange top was yelling at some rabbit with black hair and throwing bricks at her.

Ichigo could only look in disgust, his eyes straining to decipher what the petite had drawn.

"What the hell?! A tree throwing bricks?" he said.

"No! That's a monkey throwing juice boxes! Can't you see?!" she countered.

"Maybe if you didn't draw pictures with your feet people could tell what it is!"

"I don't draw with my feet! I need them to shove up your ass!"

"Yeah, if you could reach me from their you little garden gnome!"

But she could, and but his butt wasn't damaged, he tried to dodge at her incoming foot and his rear made it but his crouch wasn't as lucky. The second she realized what happened she found Ichigo lying on the ground, holding himself and biting his lip to hold in the pain.

"Ichigo! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" she apologized, trying to think of what she could do to help him.

"I'll get some ice!" she declared, running to the freezer.

"Please……..no ice…….no ice……." He murmured, his pleas not able to reach her ears."

She knelt down next to him, placing her hand with the bag of ice closer to him, blushing at how close it was to his……jewels.

"Maybe you should put it the ice on." She suggested.

"I don't need ice you little goblin! I need new nuts!" he yelled out.

She kicked him again, but this time in the ribs, all her regret disappearing.

"What the hell?! You already injured me!"

"Yeah, but you called me a goblin. So I kicked you."

"You are a little goblin! A sesame seed!" he yelled out once more, and yet again he was kicked once more.

"Stop calling me names!" she yelled out.

"Hell no, hobbit!" He was attacked again.

"OW! Dammit! You little pixie!" But this time no kick.

"Pixies are kinda cute….." she said to herself, looking up at the roof as if imagining herself as a pixie.

Ichigo decided to use this time to crawl away while she was stuck in her fantasy world. This was going to be the last time he let her kick him! Rukia finally snapped out of her daze and walked over to him.

"Pathetic! You are like a monkey. Just like in my picture!" Rukia taunted, showing off her picture once more.

"What monkey? All I see is a tree throwing bricks!"

"That's you as a monkey, throwing juice boxes!"

"Hell no! That's a god damn tree with an orange top to it! And that rabbit looks like a baseball glove!" Ichigo said as he began to slowly recover from the horrible pain.

Rukia had finally snapped. "Fuck it Ichigo. Whatever." The picture fell from her hand as she quietly walked away and climbed the stairs, slamming the door to his own room. He just stood there, watching in confusion as he heard her crawl into the closet.

Despite not knowing what he did he couldn't help but feel some guilt but knew it was pointless to do anything right now. He relaxed himself on the couch and turned on the television but he couldn't enjoy it. He just flipped through the channels until he finally abandoned the remote and just fell to sleep.

Karin had woke him up.

"Rukia….." he whispered.

"Rukia….isn't that the girl in your class?" Karin asked as she began to smile. "Dreaming about a girl Ichigo?"

"No……" Looking for a way to change the subject, he asked about dinner as he noticed the darkness outside the window. Karin had told him their father was at a late meeting and that they should just order something.

"How about some Chinese? Yuzu said she already ate on the field trip." Karin mentioned as Ichigo rose from the couch and grabbed the phone. Karin looked in surprise as Ichigo kept ordering more and more food.

"Ichigo……how much do you eat? I couldn't eat one third of what you ordered."

"………I'm hungry." He lied.

The doorbell rang later and he paid for the delivery.

"Here Karin. I'm going to eat in my room." He said, handing her her food from the order.

"I still can't believe you're going to eat all that." She said.

Little did she know but that food wasn't just for him. He walked up the stairs and opened the door, seeing how empty his room was. Placing the box of food on the floor he knocked on the closet door.

"Rukia…….it's time to eat."

No answer.

"Rukia…..come on. Dinner."

No answer.

"Don't tell me you're still mad."

A voice suddenly emerged from the closet.

"Yes. I'm still mad." She said, her voice still as stern as it was at the fight.

"Rukia……I don't know what I did……..how can I apologize?"

No answer.

Ichigo was about to burst into anger until he remembered some of the fight.

"I'm sorry about making fun of your picture." He grinned as she opened the closet the door.

"How dare you think I'm so immature as to overreact to a picture! That's not what it's about!" she fussed.

Ichigo would have usually yelled at her or called her a name but decided to slowly calm himself down and talk.

"Please Rukia……tell me what is it. If I'm did something, then I'm sorry."

Rukia was about to yell but stopped, shocked that he so calmly asked for the answer instead of arguing.

"It's just…….you could be a bit more nicer to me. I hate coming home and fighting like that, than we never figure out what's wrong and just start yelling again." She quietly said as she rubbed her arm, her head bent towards the ground.

"I see. Then I'm sorry Rukia." Ichigo apologized. "I'll try harder next time."

"Me too…." She said.

The awkward silence afterward was slowly killing them as they stood there, hiding their flustered faces from each other.

"So……you wanna eat dinner or something?" he swiftly asked, almost hoping she didn't noticed.

"Dinner?" she asked, her eyes widening up. She had forgotten all about that.

"Yeah, we ordered Chinese. You can grab whatever what you want. I'll just eat what's left." Ichigo said as she quickly fixed her plate and ran back into the closet.

"You can eat out here. I'll just lock the door." He suggested.

"But wouldn't it be strange that you eat out in the kitchen but lock the door to your room?" she asked.

"I'll just eat in here then." He said as he fixed his plate and sat down on the floor, watching Rukia slowly make her way out of the closet.

"Thank you Ichigo." She said.

"For what?"

"For caring. You remembered to get me dinner, offered to eat with me, apologized for something you didn't know about and ordered my favorite food." She said.

"It's nothing." He calmly said. "This is your home after all."


	2. Chapter 2: Work for Her

**Chapter 2: Work for Her**

Ichigo awoke from his nap, a loud banging echoing from his door. As his vision blurred all he could interpret was Rukia running back into the closet and his kid sister Yuzu walking in. 

"Ichigo, have you seen my white shirt and blue baggy pants?" she asked, her curled brow showing confusion at her clothes' sudden disappearance.

"Sorry Yuzu." He replied but that didn't stop her.

"Maybe they got mixed up with your clothes in the laundry. Can I check your closet?" she asked softly.

He nodded only to realize Rukia was in there and jolted to it before Yuzu could grasp the handle.

"Ichigo?"

"It's nothing….I just remembered that your clothes weren't in there." He nervously stuttered, using his broad arm length to blockade the doors. Yuzu decided to crawl under him and opened the door slightly.

"Let me just check for one minute. I've looked all over the house."

"No! N-no! My…..uh……I….I have dirty magazines in there!" Ichigo lied, cursing himself the instant he realized what he said.

"EEEEeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!" his little sister screamed, running out of the room with her hands over her mouth. Ichigo could only watch in horror as he heard Yuzu telling Karin from the other side of the wall. Another loud "eeeewwwwwww" was heard and Ichigo could only walk over to the his door with his head bent down in shame as he locked it.

"My sisters are scarred for life. I'm a monster." He murmured.

Over all his depression he could hear tumbling and laughter from the closet, opening it only to see Rukia rolling back and forth on her back, holding her stomach.

"Yeah, there's something dirty in my closet alright." He said.

Rukia, finally calm, shot a sharp glance at him.

"I'm not dirty. I bathe every day." She argued, returning to her state of hilarity as she looked at the blush on Ichigo's face.

"You need to stop stealing my sister's clothes! She needs those you cricket!"

"I'm not a cricket either, you orange top palm tree."

"Oh yeah, that's a clever comeback….." he groaned as he shut the closet door and laid his body on the bed. He began to stare at the roof when an idea finally struck.

"Perfect." He whispered.

School ended the next day but Rukia was left walking home by herself, curiosity spinning in her bright eyes. Ichigo had told her he'd had something to do after school but when she asked he just decided to ignore her. And she wasn't in the mood for an argument.

Climbing into the window of his house, she decided to lock the door and take a nap in his bed, hugging the pillow as her body melted away in the cotton fabric. When she had opened her eyes she could hear the door knob rattling.

Thinking it was a burglar she slowly opened the door and whacked the dark towering body with a pillow.

"Well, that's lame ass, you monkey." Ichigo remarked as he dropped his bookbag to the ground and plopped onto the bed. Rukia watched him drag his tired body over to the mattress and sat down next to him.

"Did something happen?" she asked from pure concern.

"No." he grunted.

"Ichigo….tell me. I don't want to argue anymore."

"Sorry." He apologized, realizing he was letting the stress getting to him. "You'll see in a few days."

Rukia's wide eyes grew wider as she became kitten curious about what he meant. So she took out her paws and began poking him in the belly.

"What is it Ichigo? Is it candy?" she asked, her long grin showing signs of treachery soon to come.

"I said you'll see." He said, trying to go to sleep by rolling over, turning his back to her.

"I wonder how I'll figure out….." she happily mumbled to herself, loudly enough as if to warn Ichigo about what she was going to do. She stealthily crawled over him and began to rub her fingers across his ribs.

Trying to hold in his laughter, he began chuckling like a maniac.

"Cut that out……you……you…….speck!" he yelled out, laughing out loud. (LOL)

"I'm not a speck!" she snapped back.

"Fine, you chibi!' he said.

Suddenly she stopped all movement.

"Rukia?" he asked, worried that maybe she was hurt by his remark. He rose himself up to look at her.

She sat on her knees, her mouth slightly open and a blush on her face.

"Chibis are cute." She mumbled.

"What the hell woman?! I thought I made you mad or something!" he yelled out as he hurled a pillow at her.

"Like that could hurt me! I'm not weak, even if I am a chibi!" she grinned as she tossed it back at him. It wasn't until he turned off the lights that she realized it was night outside.

How long had he been out and what was he doing all day?

The next day went the same, Rukia walked home by herself and Ichigo disappeared after school. The afternoons were becoming more and more lonely without him as she paid little attention to her surroundings, wondering what was on Ichigo's mind.

She decided to knock on the front door to Ichigo's house this time, Yuzu popping out this time.

"Oh, hello Rukia. Ichigo isn't home yet." She smiled.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No actually……..but you can track him down with my cellphone! It's part of our family plan from Verizon Wireless!" Yuzu yelped out.

(Urahara: To get the latest technology and cheapest price for your phone come over to your local Verizon Wireless store or get a discount at my store with a special discount on Hollow tracking devices and shinigami GPS! First 1 billion customers get ¾ of a slice of pizza!)

Rukia was handed the phone but eventually gave back to Yuzu, unable to understand the advanced technology that phone was equipped with. Yuzu smiled and operated it for her, showing her the map.

Memorizing it quickly she ran off into the alleyway and headed the location where Ichigo stayed. Smiling as she got closer she was filling the adrenaline rush all over her body as she was about to discover what Ichigo was doing all day.

The adrenaline vanished instantly as she stood before a Happy Fool's Pizza Parlor. Doubting that she followed the map correctly she was about to turn around and go home until she saw an orange bush of hair walking behind the cash register.

"Ichigo?" she asked.

"Yeah what is……..oh shit……..oh shit no……" he began to grumble as Rukia stared up towards him. He took off his paper hat and tossed it into the grill behind him, hoping it would burn faster.

"I don't work here!" he yelled out.

"Yes you do." She said.

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Stop being so goddam smart!"

"No."

"Just pretend I'm not here."

"I'm so small and you're so big, it's impossible for me to miss you."

"Goddammit!" he yelled out, alarming the other workers who only raised their brows in wonder as he covered his mouth. He slowly sighed.

"Ok……promise not to tell anyone. Ok?" he asked as he bent over the counter to confront the chibi face to face.

"I won't tell, Ichigo. But you better have a good reason for dressing up like such a dork." She grinned as she walked out, laughing out loud, scaring the customers.

That night he finally returned home and walked upstairs where he dropped on top of his bed was once more.

"Wake up." Rukia said, shaking his back.

"What……I was working all day today." He groaned.

"I know. That's why I snuck downstairs and saved you some dinner." She said as she placed the plate in front of him.

"Thanks Rukia."

"Did you bring me anything back?" she grinned slyly.

"Like what? A kids meal?" he sarcastically remarked.

"I guess you don't get dinner then." She laughed as she pulled the plate back.

"Hey! I need that!" His hand reaching for the plate.

Suddenly the door slammed wide open.

"ICHIGO!!!!" Isshin Kurosaki yelled out.

"Holy crap Dad! What?!" Ichigo yelled back, thanking the gods Rukia disappeared in time.

"Where have you been all day?!" his father cried out.

"At Happy Fool's Pizza Parlor! I have a job there!"

"Pffftt! What?!" his father asked as his cheeks blew up and his two fingers tried to stop the chuckles from escaping his mouth.

"What……what a dork!!!" Isshin blurting out.

"Ahahahaahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Ahahahahahaha! Happy Fool's!!! Boy would you're Mother be sad!" he yelled out as he rolled around on his floor.

"Shut the hell up old man!" Ichigo shouted as he rolled over and tried to sleep.

"Oh whatever………oh, I almost forgot. Hide your porn better. Yuzu told me all about your little stash. I don't mind if you read them but don't scar my daughters for life! I know you what you do when you're all alone up here!" his father revealed.

"What the hell?! Get out! I don't do that crap!" Ichigo yelled out.

"Thank God! You act like you're hiding a girl in here half the time! Wait………are you?!" Isshin asked. "I'm so proud. What's her name? Is it that Rukia from school?! Ooooohhhhhh!!!!"

"Shut the hell up and get out!!" Ichigo yelled as he kicked his father in the back.

As he slammed the door he locked it quickly but realized he didn't see Rukia crawl out from her usual hiding spots. He knelt down and searched for her under the bed, empty. He opened the closet, empty. The space under his desk was clear.

"Where the hell is she?" he scratched his head.

He then turned to the opened window.

"Oh shit……."

He ran to it only to see Rukia clinging onto a branch. He extended his hand out and helped her get back in. She lied down on his bed and pulled her pajama pants up to reveal a scratched up leg.

"I'll go grab some rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs. You stay here." Ichigo said.

"Ok."

Walking back in, she reached for the swabs but he pulled back and did it himself, soaking the tip of the cotton ball with rubbing alcohol.

"This may sting a little." He said.

"Ok."

He softly placed it on her skin. She shuddered a little but she got use to the feeling. When everything looked well he disposed of the swabs and placed a band-aid on the cut.

"Thanks Ichigo." Her silk soft voice let out as she slowly raised herself up.

"You may be a chibi Rukia but you're my chibi." He said.

To Be Continued

**Author's Note: Feed me your delicious reviews! I wish to suck the nutrients from their ripe and succulent flesh! Reviews!! Oh, and stay tuned. I may update again. You may get to see exactly what Ichigo has planned. And No, he's not saving up money to buy Rukia a birthday present, that's lame ass.**


	3. Chapter 3: Stuff for Her

**Chapter 3: Stuff for Her**

Ichigo walked through the crowded mall as Rukia tried her best to keep up with his longer legs. Her large eyes growing larger as she glimpse at each store they passed, impressed by the various merchandise sold under a single roof.

She quickly pointed at one and grabbed Ichigo by the wrist, pulling him into the store despite how pink it was. The walls were pink, the floor was pink, some of the clothes were pink, the register was pink and the owner's hair was pink.

Rukia began digging her claws into the clothes rack, marveling at each outfit and smiling as the designs differed for each set. Ichigo turned his head and finally found a nice chair to rest in.

"I guess that's where the men wait for the women to finish." He chuckled, quickly rushing over there, dropping the multiple bags he held for Rukia, all full of various clothing and accessories.

He allowed his head to drop backwards as he deeply inhaled the calm atmosphere he was now in, embracing every urge to shut his eyes and sleep. All those desires quickly vanished as his head had hit the guy sitting behind.

"Ow…watch where you-oh shit….." the man said.

Ichigo turned around to see Ishida rubbing his head, his glasses slowly slipping off his nose as he gazed in horror. Ichigo jolted out of his seat and stared at the equally terrified Quincy, both speechless.

"Holy shit! What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked but he found this the perfect time to mess with his rival. "I don't think they sell panties in your size Ishida."

"I'm not here for me Ichigo!" the bespectacled teen exclaimed.

"Then why are you here? Do they sell the sweaters you make?" Ichigo smirked.

As the two argued, a sweet voice could be heard among the incoming footsteps.

"Ishida, which one looks bett………oh, hello Ichigo!" Orihime greeted, bowing down as she did.

"You're with her?!" Ichigo yelled out.

Ishida adjusted his glasses and created a calm, cool look to his face, trying not to smile at the reality he was in.

"Yes Kurosaki-kun. I'm here to help Orihime shop and to hold her stuff. I see you with very feminine products in your bags but no girl with you." He smirked.

Ichigo lost the battle but he wasn't about to let Ishida win the war.

"I'm here with Rukia. She's shopping for clothes and stuff, dumbass." Ichigo countered, pointing to Rukia as she came over to them.

"Oh, hello Ishida and Orihime. Are you two shopping too?" she kindly asked.

"Yep. After this we're going to the food court. Wanna come with us?" Orihime asked.

Naturally she agreed but Ishida was curious. Ichigo was the gentleman type to go with a girl to the mall, especially into a store as pink as this one was. He had to ask.

"Oh. We're shopping. Ichigo brought me here to buy me some clothes since I keep taking his sister's. Did you know he actually got a job so he could afford to buy me new clothes?" Rukia announced.

"GASP! Really?! That's so sweet!" Orihime exclaimed and as quick as that the two girls started to leave the store, whispering and clucking about something the boys couldn't hear.

The girls remained ahead of them, leaving them in the back, confused as to where they were going or what the girls were saying.

"Psssssstt…….Ishida. What do you think they're talking about?" Ichigo whispered.

"I have no idea. Let's get closer." Ishida suggested.

The two quietly slid closer, until they were only two feet away from the girls.

"I can't believe Ichigo really did that just for you!" Orihime squealed.

"I know! Isn't it so sweet? Actually, the secret behind Ichigo is-" Rukia turned her head to see the two boys bent over, trying to eavesdrop on their personal conversation.

Rukia decided to have some fun with this.

"The secret is, he's scared of the dark and lightning and asks Kon if he can hold him." Rukia grinned.

"Really?!" Orihime could not believe such a thing.

"What the HELL?! I take you shopping and you make up crap about me?!" Ichigo blurted out.

"What the hell? You take me shopping just so you can spy on a poor, innocent girl's personal and private conversation? Pervert!" Rukia jestered.

"I ain't no pervert….." Ichigo murmured under a defeated voice. He started to back off to give the girls some room as Ishida tried his best to hold in his laughter as the surrounding crowds of people watched in horror.

All Ichigo could hear were people whispering "Pervert?" "What a sicko.""He's disgusting."

"What the hell?! Rukia, tell them I'm not a pervert and I don't sleep with Kon!" he demanded as Ishida bursted out with laughter. He couldn't take anymore. His laughter echoed throughout the entire mall, resembling that of a maniac.

"This is too much!" he said as he began to kneel down onto the ground, holding his stomach. "Pwahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! That's so stupid! A perverted lone wolf who sleeps with a teddy bear as tears roll down his face during a lightning storm. What are you, two? Pwahahahahahahahaahahahahaha!!!!"

"Ishida, you sack of shit!" Ichigo yelled out as he kicked him in the ribs, leaving him on the ground to laugh and curl in pain all at once.

The three had made it to the food court, finding a table as soon as possible before the crowd came in. Ishida returned with a serious look on his face, trying to pretend nothing happened. Ichigo tried his best as well.

"Could one of you stay here and watch all the bags? My arm's killing me." Ichigo asked as he and Rukia walked off to get something to eat. "You go Orihime, I'll wait here."

"Okay!" she yelped as she rushed over to the others.

Rukia analyzed each menu, trying to figure out what she wanted as Ichigo stared at her.

"Need some help there?" he kindly asked.

"There's too much to decide from. I want to eat it all." Rukia complained.

"You know, since chibis have such small bodies, if they were to eat that much they would expand, not grow taller." Ichigo said.

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked.

"No, I'm just saying be careful before you turn into a boulder." He smirked as he pointed at a menu. Her eyes looked over at the odd circular shaped food on the menu.

"How about you try some pizza?" Ichigo asked.

She agreed, never tasting something like that before and knew it was probably good since they both shared the same tastes in food.

"So, what toppings you want?" he asked as he pulled out his wallet.

"Toppings? They give you hats with your pizza?" she asked.

"What? No, the topping is something you put on your pizza like pepperoni or pineapple." He explained.

"How about ice cubes?" she asked.

_Wtf?_ he thought to himself. _If she knew what a pizza was she wouldn't want freakin' ice cubes on it._

"How about some pepperoni instead?" he grinned, trying to hide his expression of awe at her ignorance.

"Alright." She said as she went up to the front of the store and picked up a tray, picked out a pizza, grabbed a few cups, a few straws, a bunch of napkins, some ketchup, some mustard, some relish, some mayonnaise, some sugar packets, and some pepper.

She soon realized that Ichigo was standing there, watching in horror as she clawed at everything she could grab.

"Oi,oi. Wait until we get the pizza before you start grabbing every condiment possible. You don't even have room left on your tray for the pizza." He said with a deadpan expression.

She started to put some stuff back and grabbed the pizza as soon as it was ready. Her excitement would be her curse as she ran over to Ichigo with the pizza in her hands.

"Oh shit! Stop running with that you might fall!" Ichigo yelled out but her happiness and anticipation to try the new food overwhelmed her and she did not hear. Typically in a fanfic this is the part where a girl would fall but be saved by the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Rukia's foot slipped due to a left behind napkin, causing her to fall to the ground.

Ichigo quickly ran over to her as the crowd watched.

"Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" he asked as he nervously looked all over to check for injuries.

"Yeah……I'm okay. Thanks." She softly said as he helped her up.

"That's good……but where's the pizza?" he asked.

She looked at her hands to realize they were empty and so was the ground.

"Alright! Who the hell steals a pizza from a girl who just tripped?!" Ichigo yelled out, until he turned his head to discover the entire pizza box slowly sinking into the fountain behind them.

"Ah shit………" he said.

He ran over to the fountain and pulled the pizza box, letting the water pour out. Rukia came over, her eyes showing deep shame and regret. Ichigo pulled out the pizza as it was dripping wet. It was no longer edible, floppy like wet paper.

"I'm sorry….." Rukia apologized.

"It's okay……we'll just buy another one." Ichigo said as he wrapped her arm around her in comfort.

He examined his wallet. Very few bills in there. Seconds later, the two sat at the table trying to cut a single pizza slice in half.

"Want some of our food?" Ishida asked.

"Hell no." Ichigo's pride said, giving Ishida a dark glare.

Suddenly a man walked up to them.

"Poor little fools. Have some coins." The man said, dropping some coins on the table.

Ichigo looked up, only to see a man who could only make things worse.

"Urahara?!" Ichigo yelled out.

"I see you and Miss Rukia are on a little date. But what kind of cheap man- if you can even call him a man- buys only a single slice and forces a poor young lady to eat only half of it?" Urahara laughed behind his fan.

"Actually, I dropped the pizza into the fountain. I fell." Rukia said.

"Oh, is that the case? When then here." He said, dropping a few bills and then walking off.

"What was the point of him being here?" Ichigo whispered.

Ichigo picked up the money only to see a piece of paper under the stack.

It read: "Hello boys and girls. Tired of your pizzas getting soaked and floppy like cats? Why don't you come to the Urahara Shop and buy water-resistant pizza? Made by our Cook Jinta and Ururu. Depsite the fact that she looks like a cockroach doesn't mean we have any…..maybe. It's only 5 dollars! What a deal in my professional opinion and who would doubt a professional?"

"He gave us a freakin advertisement!!" Ichigo yelled as he tossed the paper into the trash bin. "And if it's water-resistant how the hell are we supposed to digest it?!"

As Ichigo ended his rant he saw noticed Rukia was gone and looked all over for her. She suddenly came back with a pizza box in her hands. She gently placed it on the table and sat down.

"Ichigo, I got a new one." She said.

As he sat down and prepared his plate, Rukia could only watch.

"I can finally quit my job now. You should have enough clothes right?" he asked Rukia.

"Yeah, but…….maybe you should keep it anyway." She suggested. "You could always use the extra money for yourself."

Confused, he looked up at her.

"Huh?"

"And even if you don't have any money……these days at the mall……are really fun." She said.

TO BE CONTINUED.


	4. Chapter 4: Ideas for Her

**Chapter 4: Ideas for Her**

Rukia excitedly dashed past Ichigo the instant he unlocked the front door to his house, was running upstairs and locking the door.

" What the hell?! Watch where you're going!!" he yelled across the empty house as he sat down on the couch.

He looked for the remote and turned on the television, knowing he wouldn't be allowed in his own room for a few hours. Rukia was now trying on every piece of clothing he bought her and admiring each possible combination of every accessory, color, and overall feel.

In a way Ichigo was glad not to be in his room at the moment. He knew Rukia would have asked him his opinion on every little thing, and he could imagine some of the conversation.

"_Ichigo, does this make my butt look big?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What?! No it doesn't!"_

"_Then why did you ask me?!"_

He didn't have an ounce of strength left from their trip to the mall to handle another argument. Rukia wasn't the only one tired of all the constant bicker.

As he flipped through random stations he suddenly heard slow, quiet footsteps coming from the staircase. Rukia had tried on her new orange dress and stood at the side of the couch, looking at Ichigo.

He hoped that by not looking at her she wouldn't ask him something about the clothes she was wearing yet his will seem to vanish as her glowing violet eyes simply stared at him, foreshadowing exactly what she was going to say.

"Ichigo……what do you think?" she gently asked, spinning around in her dress.

The instant he turned his head to see her, he felt it. Warmth flew through his body, his eyes shivered in desire, and his heart started to jump at every second. He couldn't believe how attractive she was, more than before.

Unfortunately he could no longer control himself. He felt an odd liquid flow from his face. His nose was bleeding.

"_Holy shit!"_ he thought to himself.

He quickly covered his nose before she could notice and turned away from her, his body trembling as it tried to sustain itself in front of her. He had to get her away before she noticed something was wrong. He had to answer her question.

"You look beautiful!" he snapped.

"Really? Thank you Ichigo!" she smiled as she ran back upstairs.

The door closed, signaling to him it was okay. He got up and peeked at towards the top of the stairs to see if she was standing there but the coast was clear. He made his way to the kitchen and turned on the sink to clean himself.

Until he realized……

"_Oh shiiiiiiitttttt…………"_ he thought to himself.

"Did……I just say she looked beautiful? Ah…….dammit!" he nearly yelled out.

He tried to sit on the couch but was too frantic to enjoy it, starting to pace back and forth.

"What if she figures out that I…..." Ichigo thought to himself.

As he panicked Rukia began to untie the ribbon around her waist, hoping to quickly try something new on and maybe get another compliment from Ichigo. Once the dress became loose she gently pulled it off and hung it in the closet.

"Maybe I should try that shirt that matches Ichigo's hair?" she told herself.

She lifted the hanger from the closet railing. Suddenly she jolted. She noticed earlier when she was downstairs but now she could feel it again. Her heart was beating faster and her cheeks felt warmer. She turned around and looked at the mirror, her hands massaging her cheeks.

In the reflection was a petite blushing girl, her widened eyes seemingly relaxed. Her gentle smile made her feel at peace but her beating chest made her feel excited……unusually excited.

Abandoning the dress she placed on the chair she sat on the bed and felt her chest with a single hand. Her baffled expression would confuse others as sadness or deep pain but she was simply curious and oddly enough, overjoyed.

Time felt slower and the surrounding world seemed insignificant as she focused on this feeling. It consumed every fragment of her mind, her concentration cut off from the world. She tried to define this feeling, she tried to figure out its origins……….but to no avail.

She began to feel slightly depressed at her failure until-

"Rukia. You done in there? I gotta study!" Ichigo shouted as he knocked on the door.

The knocking had snapped her back into reality, the sudden shock causing her to jump in her place. She decided to play it off and feign her normal behavior.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." She scorned as she quickly grabbed one of the pajama sets and dressed up.

"Well, hurry up dammit! My dad said he's going to be home!" Ichigo replied.

"What?!" Rukia yelled out as she fell to the ground, tripping over the one leg in her pants she had a leg in.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia lifted herself up from the ground, angry at the entire situation.

"Yeah. I'm fine! You should have told me about your father sooner! I wouldn't have to rush and trip!" she shouted.

"What the hell?! He just called me now. I couldn't have told you sooner!"

"Whatever…" she murmured.

"What the hell is her problem? Damn mi…….chibi." Ichigo said as he started to lean on the wall, placing a plate down on the ground next to him.

As the door to his room opened, Rukia slowly made her way to the closet as Ichigo handed her her dinner. He sat down at the desk and pried opened his Japanese history book.

Rukia ate the meal slowly, her mind possessed by her troubled heart. She tried to make up as many theories as she could for this emotion. So far, only one has survived all trials, the theory she made from the start.

She cracked opened the closet door and peeked at Ichigo as he studied. She knew the exact reason why she felt that way. Her eyes followed each strand of hair on his head as he read from the book.

He was the doubtlessly the reason and she was happy but at the same time extremely nervous. She wasn't sure but maybe this feeling was………………..

"LOVE!!!" Orihime yelled out.

"Wh…..what?" Rukia asked, shocked at how quickly she said that.

"Orihime's right. It sounds like you like him and he likes you." Tatsuki said.

It was school the next day and Rukia decided to have lunch with the girls to ask them what they thought. But "love"?

She thought about it but still didn't believe it. Tatsuki noticed her thinking and decided to say something.

"You know Rukia, there's a weekend field trip coming up. Maybe you could figure out what it is you feel by hanging out with him all alone."

And it was decided. On the field trip Rukia would decide what she felt for Ichigo but if it was love, what would she do?


	5. Chapter 5:Anticipation for Her

Author's Note: Woowee...sorry for be so late to update. I've been working on so many other fanfics and college is really...whatever. Just enjoy!

Chapter 5: Anticipation for Her

The crowds of students stood before the buses, listening to the teachers' instructions as they braced themselves for the field trip ahead. The Karakura high school class had decided to take a trip to a forest retreat this year despite the many pleas from squealing girls to go to the hot springs.

"And remember, you represent the school so do not put us to shame. Please enjoy your trip." The teacher finished, signaling for the buses to open.

The students quickly decided who to sit with and prepared to board the bus.

"Oh my lovely Rukia! Won't you join me on the bus ride to Heaven?" Kiego begged on one knee.

"No! Rukia is sitting with us! Screw your bus ride to Hell and back!" Tatsuki revealed as she and Orihime dragged Rukia away who was about to politely reject Kiego.

Rukia was able to come along because of Ichigo. Since she didn't have any parents and couldn't contact her brother, she needed signatures for the field trip form, signatures Ichgio was willing to forge for her.

"_Let's see," Ichigo mumbled to himself. "We need names for your parents….how about Butthole? Or Rukio?"_

"_I think you better come up with a nicer name than that. Just put Byakuya." Rukia suggested._

"_What kind of prissy ass has that kind of name?"_

She was thankful for his action and was beginning to only see the sweet side of Ichigo, the side that was always helping her no matter what it was.

"Geez, Rukia. Your suitcase is heavy! What's in here, bricks?" Tatsuki fussed as she tried her hardest to fit the suitcase above them.

Rukia smiled and thanked her. Inside the suitcase lied her special plan to figure out her feelings for Ichigo. She had waited a long time for this trip and now she could figure out.

Ichigo sat next to Chad and Ishida who remained silent most of the time, Chad listened to his music and Ishida seemed to have enough fun enjoying the scenery as they drove by. Ichigo, bored out of his mind, looked over at Rukia who sat directly across from him.

"Hey……Rukia. You bored?" he whispered.

She turned around and lightly nodded when in reality she was actually possessed by her thoughts of him, anticipating the plan. Now she was focused on Ichigo as he attempted to think of something to do to pass the time. Little came to mind.

"This is a barrel full of fun, Ichigo…" Rukia sarcastically remarked. Suddenly miniature screens emerged from the roof of the bus. The teacher stood up and with and declared that a movie was brought for them to watch. The movie, unfortunately, was March of the Penguins.

"Booooooo!!!" the class whined. "We already saw this on t.v, during class, and at the movies! Please have mercy on our souls!"

Chad didn't seem to have a problem with it and Rukia and Orihime seemed to be the only ones excited to see the same billion penguins walking on the same billion miles of ice to do the same thing every year and die shortly after. This was fun for them.

Ichigo angrily yawned at the notion of watching that garbage and decided to pull out his PSP to watch a movie he downloaded. Rukia looked over and was nearly tempted to join him but….it was Penguins!

"It's Ichigo's fault for rejecting the cute penguins anyway." Rukia judged, smiling as the screens began to play the movie. Unfortunately it was not the March of the Penguins. It appeared to be one man in a hotel room using a frozen sausage to-

"Eeeeeeewwwwwwww….." the class yelled out.

"Keigo!! What the hell is on this DVD?!" the teacher yelled out.

Keigo realized he accidentally brought one of his dad's dirty movies from home, but no one believed that it was his father's.

"Yeah right Keigo! Your nasty ass probably brought that from your own personal collection!"

"Sick !!"

"I want to see what happens!" Orihime blurted out. The entire bus turned to stare at her with odd and disgusted looks. Obviously she was never properly introduced to pornography.

"Well….I guess there's no movie then." The teacher resigned, sitting back down to enjoy the scenery outside the window.

Rukia sighed deeply to express her clear disappointment that she couldn't see the penguins but reverted back to focusing on Ichigo. She also remembered the large suitcase she brought just for the two of them.

"Um…Ichigo. Can I watch the movie on your PSP too? The March of the Penguins wasn't there." Rukia gently asked.

He sucked his teeth but agreed.

"Fine, but you have to come over here to watch it," Ichigo said.

Rukia found that to rather confusing. All the seats were taken, what was she to do about seeing the movie, Ichigo couldn't hold it out between the seats. Besides, Rukia wanted to watch it just with him alone.

She then thought of a plan but hesitated to do it. Her blush on her face signaled Tatsuki to advise her. She poked her head out from the side of Orihime and smiled at Rukia.

"Go for it," Tatsuki whispered.

With that Rukia nodded and decided to do it. She quickly stood up and made her way to Ichigo where she sat on his lap and made herself more comfortable, ignoring the rest of the bus that watched in absolute shock, ignoring Ichigo whose stunned heart caused him to freeze as Rukia stretched out over him and pretended to act casual at the entire situation.

Somehow she even managed to ignore Urahara who sat at the back of the bus, for what reasons no one knew.

"_What the hell is she doing?! Her butt is right over my….uh-oh…"_ Ichigo said to himself as he felt _it _move. He hoped she didn't notice as he repositioned himself. He placed his arms under her and placed her horizontally on his lap, letting her feet dangle from the armrest.

"Is he letting me sit like this? I thought he'd be more bashful…wait, he's blushing too." Rukia noticed.

"_I guess this means I'm not alone in this moment. We're both blushing, and I don't even remember why I came over here to his seat in the first place." _Rukia thought.

Ichigo had forgotten he even had a PSP in his hand.


	6. Chapter 6:Confusion for Her

Chapter 6: Confusion for Her

Ichigo and Rukia both stayed wide awake as Rukia became too nervous too to move from her awkward position. She could only hope Ichigo wouldn't ask about it and Ichigo only hoped Rukia wouldn't ask some lame ass question like "Does this make you comfortable?" or "Am I hurting you or something?"

"Is this okay?" Rukia asked.

"_Dammit!"_ Ichigo thought, now he had to keep his cool more and more as Rukia stared at him with her flushed face and large eyes, almost like she was kissing his soul, but Ichigo didn't want such stupid romantic thoughts flying in his head while they were on the bus. He slowly nodded his head, feigning a smile which resembled more of a fissure than a pleasant grin.

"Maybe I could go to sleep or something…maybe this will all pass," Ichigo told himself, comforting his mind with these thoughts but not his heart. Luckily Ishida was sleeping but Chad was wide awake, listening to the music in his headphones. He looked over to notice Rukia laying on Ichigo's lap, her little foot hovering over Chad's left leg. He ignored it, knowing whatever those two had going on wasn't any of his business.

Ichigo decided to sleep now, hoping he'd wake up when the bus would stop and Rukia would sneak off of him so no one would catch them like this. His sight turned black as he gently closed his eyes. Unfortunately he woke up to the opposite of what he hoped for.

"My oh my! These indecent children don't care where they are, they'll just lay all over their lovers," Urahara said loudly, waking up the entire class on the bus. The students looked puzzled and Ichigo was now trying to contain the urge to choke his ass right there and now.

He could hear the whispering of his classmates around him, he could hear "Rukia" and "Ichgio" and words like "kiss", "love", "date", and for some reason, "pregnant". He had to c1 ontrol these rumors before people got mixed up.

"Hey! Listen up! There's nothing-" But Urahara quickly thrust his cane towards Ichigo's face, making him silent.

"There's nothing more that Ichigo would love than have you all buy pictures of him and Rukia sleeping with each other…on the bus! $2.99 each!!" Urahara advertised. He smiled as the hands of money rose to the air above the seats, shaking around so Urahara could collect.

"_When the hell did he take pictures?! Why the hell is he on our school field trip?!"_ Ichigo asked himself. Rukia was now concerned about the entire situation. What was Ichigo going to say? That there was nothing between them or that he would never fall for someone like her? Why was he so open to rejecting the idea they could be together?

These horrible thoughts began to haunt every vessel of her mind and she felt like sitting with Ichigo would just be a bother to him so she lifted herself up and sat back in her seat.

Puzzled, Ichigo turned towards Rukia to see a depressing frown where her smile use to be, he could see Tatsuki and Orihime looking down at her, their eyes asking her what was wrong.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ichigo asked himself. He turned to look at Chad and Ishida who both turned their heads away.

"…….." Chad remained silent.

"Scum of the earth…" Ishida muttered.

"What was that?!" Ichigo yelled out, alerting the entire bus, except Rukia. Urahara tilted his hat to cover his eyes, disappointed in Ichigo.

"_He obviously lacks any tact in situations like these,"_ Urahara thought to himself.

The bus came to a stop in front of a forest, the entrance surrounded by cement gates and only one large opening was to guide the class onto the path that would take them to the retreat house. Chad walked by Ichigo without saying anything, Ishida gave him a look of disgust.

"Bitch." He murmured.

"You wanna fight or something?!" Ichigo shouted out again. Ishida ignored it and walked off with Chad, heading into the forest without him.

"What's up with those two?" Ichigo thought to himself. Then he saw Tatsuki give him a sour look as she walked by with Rukia and Orihime. He could have sworn he saw a fang in her disgruntled look. Rukia still seemed out of it. Ichigo had to figure out what was wrong.

Ichigo ended up traveling through the forest alone, troubled by the enigma that troubled Rukia. He knew something was wrong when she suddenly got up from his lap.

Ichigo heard a twig snap suddenly and turned around.

"A hollow?! Here?!" he said. The noise shifted to a rustling in the bushes and a sharp gust of wind. When he turned around he saw Urahara standing there, looking at him with a scolding face.

"Clogs n' Hats?! What do you want?!" Ichigo loudly asked, half scared by the appearance and half angry that Urahara managed to follow him to the forest just to bother him.

"I bet you wanna know why I'm here on this trip?" Urahara asked, knowing the answer already.

"Well, yeah! This is a school field trip!" Ichigo shouted out.

"Not to Rukia. You better be more careful what you say around her." Urahara advised before he vanished back into the forest, leaving a pamphlet on the ground. Ichigo walked over to pick it up.

"Maybe it has some tips on what he means….How to Pick Up Girls?!" Ichigo shouted out, shocked that Urahara left such a thing behind. He knew he didn't drop it by accident.

Chad and Ishida walked through the path, dragging behind the class.

"You think Ichigo can handle it? You know, getting Rukia to fall for him?" Ishida asked. "Apparently he isn't too good with women."

"Not true. Just in this situation. Ichigo will know what to do." Chad said.

"Hmm…." Ishida couldn't fully believe what Chad said but decided to ignore it, walking forward. Suddenly, he began to chuckle. Chad turned to see him laughing out loudly. What was so funny?

"I…I know why Ichigo isn't good with girls! He's afraid of them!! Remember that Tatsuki use to beat him up all the time in dojo when they were children?" Ishida laughed, holding his stomach. "Maybe his big sword is also a way he compensates for something." Ishida continued to laugh loudly.

"You know, that joke about his sword has been said a billion times," chad said before walking off, leaving Ishida confused.

Rukia and the girls walked ahead of the guys, Tatsuki hoping she could reassure Rukia that it will all end up well.

"Don't worry Rukia. He didn't mean it, I'm sure he was just embarrassed." Tatsuki said. "It's common- but stupid- for boys to do that. Even women do it."

Those words fell silent to Rukia's ears. She couldn't understand the concept of hiding feelings if you had them, it didn't make sense and she wasn't convinced, she felt like she was losing her bond with Ichigo, the potential felt lost.

"Well, you should just try anyway," Orihime suggested. "If you try you actually know for sure and then you can mope around all you want!"

"You know Orihime, despite the wisdom in that sentence, it just came out the wrong way." Tatsuki said.

When the students made it to the cabin they were separated into rooms with someone of the same gender. Ishida unfortunately had to sleep in the same room as Ichigo.

"Since you're afraid of girls I better not catch you eyeing my body," Ishida warned.

"I should be saying the same thing to you," Ichigo countered.

"If I catch you maybe I'll get Tatsuki to beat you up like she always does."

"Only natural for a wuss to get a girl to fight his battles…" Ichigo casually replied.

"Dammit, he's witty!" Ishida resigned.

As the teacher explained the rules, Ichigo could see Rukia, she seemed more happy than before but still depressed. Ichigo couldn't stand it. The second the teacher was done the boys and girls scattered across the place but Ichigo ran towards the girls' side.

"Rukia!" he called out.

She turned around to see Ichigo chasing after her. Tatsuki smiled, knowing that he was doing the right thing now.

"So…uh, you want to go check out the lake or something?" he asked. He smiled when he finally saw her eyes light up. She replied with an excited "Of course!" and ran off to change her clothes. Ichigo watched her run off and grin, now knowing he did the right thing, he wanted to fix whatever problem he made.


	7. Chapter 7:Directions for Her

Chapter 7: Directions for Her

Rukia slammed the door to her room shut and began to dig through her suitcase excitedly, hoping to find the perfect outfit. There it was too, nicely folded and prepared for a day such as this. She quickly shuffled her small arms into it but realized she needed some help. Orihime could hear her name being called out from behind the door. She made her way to the door but the knob wouldn't budge.

"Rukia! Don't call someone and then lock the door!" Orihime fussed.

"Oh! Sorry!" Rukia apologized, running to the door she unlocked, making sure no one saw her from the outside. Orihime slithered in through the small crack Rukia made with the door, hoping that her chest could get through.

"Rukia! My breasts are getting stuck in the doorway!" she exclaimed.

All the boys from the other side of the hotel looked over to see what the commotion was.

"Breasts?" "Breasts?" "Did someone say breast were being struck?" "I hear the magic word for me!" "My senses are tingling!" Kiego announced. "I heard something about breasts being struck." "Well, whose breasts are they?" Urahara asked Kiego.

"By the tingling in the air and the amount of humidity I would say…..Orihime's!" Kiego responded.

"I can't believe this fanfic wasted nearly a paragraph about breasts jokes…" Ishida muttered.

"I'm more surprised by Kiego's abilities," Chad revealed.

As the crowd of men thoroughly discussed the subject Ichigo was nowhere to be found. Rukia stared at Orihime who tried her best to squeeze through the crack, grunting and squealing as she did.

"You know, I really envy you sometimes…" Rukia said.

"Why?" Orihime obliviously asked.

"Never mind, will you button the back of my dress please? I need to hurry up and meet Ichigo at the lake," she said.

Orihime nodded, slowly making her way to Rukia who stood in front of a mirror. Orihime grabbed hold of the buttons, stopping to look at the smile on Rukia's face, how rare it was to see a smile that…a smile made of pure emotion. Rukia never seemed happier.

Rukia continued to smile, admiring her own reflection and how the orange dress glowed along with her. She continued to examine herself until she saw Orihime, disturbed by her missing grin or active body. She turned to look at her as Orihime quickly shifted her frown to a feigned smile.

"Is everything okay Orihime?" Rukia asked.

"What? Me? I'm just fine!" she cheered.

Rukia looked at her calm but perceptive, she knew something was wrong. Her violet orbs stared into Orihime's, waiting for a proper answer to her question but receiving only odd questions about why she was being stared at. Rukia turned around to focus on her reflection again.

"I'm sorry Orihime…I know you like Ichigo but…" Rukia apologized yet her voice hinting that what she felt for Ichigo ruled over Orihime's, the growing strength in her voice signaling to Orihime that good news would not arrive. Rukia paused but decided to continue.

"I'm going to try my best to be with Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed. "I'm sorry but…that's how I feel." Orihime nodded, showing no change in mood. Rukia had to ignore this.

"Don't let me bring your big day down, if you're meant to be….that's how it is," Orihime said. Rukia ate those words but hated the taste, wishing there was some kind of solution to all this. Once she felt the final button snap tight she dashed towards the door, never looking back at the room or Orihime.

Rukia began to run but decided to act casual, what if Ichigo saw her walking like that, like she was all excited about seeing _Ichigo_ at the lake? She decided that in order to prevent others from thinking she liked him, despite knowing that already, she decided to act depressed. Her leg went limp and she decided to drag her while her head was bent towards the ground. Her eyes were shadowed by her hair and her smile went completely upside down.

Her arms lost their strength and just swayed with her movements. The boys just watched as she dragged her corpse across the smooth wooden floor of the inn, a cloud of depression floating around her.

"Wow, she's sad," Ishida said. "I didn't know it would suck that much to see Ichigo."

"Some girls have more sense than others I suppose," Chad said.

"What the hell?!" Ishida replied.

"It was a joke."

Ishida didn't know if saying it was a joke was the actual joke or if it really was a joke but he decided to quickly ignore Chad's emotionless expression and joined the other boys in Rukia watching.

"For those who don't know, this is a pun on Bird Watching, especially since a rukia is a type of bird in the white-eye family. Go ahead, check it out on Wikipedia or Google! Or if you don't believe me buy a Urahara "Anime Characters Named after Birds" book for only 2 dollars and get a free top for a jar." Urahara stated.

Once Rukia was clear of all the boys' vision she began to cheerfully trot out of the building and towards the lake where Ichigo waited. She ran passed the trees that stood on the side of the path and past the bushes that joined them. She wished the birds would chirp to make it more romantic but instead she could see a dead one rotting on the ground as maggots feasted upon it, producing a horrendous scent that plagued the serenity of the area.

"_That kinda ruins the mood. Then again, rotting carcasses tend to do that_," Rukia thought to herself as she ran. She could see the lake from the where she stood and increased her speed until she was only a few feet away from it, leaving the shadows of the forest and embracing the bright afternoon sun. Though she was at the lake, she couldn't find Ichigo.

Faraway Chad, Kiego, Mizuru, Ishida, and Urahara watched poor Rukia look all over the place for Ichigo. She noticed the tree and heard snoring so she walked over there. When she saw that the person was actually the local forest bum she stepped back.

"Some romantic location…" she sarcastically remarked.

The boys couldn't seem to find Ichigo either from the hotel window's view. Ishida decided to check the rooms but Ichigo wasn't in any of them.

"Crap…don't tell me he ditched her!!" Ishida said.

"Ichigo's not like that. There must be a reason," Chad said.

The innkeeper walked by, wondering what the boys were gathered around for. In the meantime Rukia decided to ask the forest bum- or as they prefer to be called "Hermits of Wisdom",- if he saw an orange haired guy walk by but he shook his head. He decided to tell her that he might not be here at all. The innkeeper told the boys the same thing.

"I'm sorry but the truth is this area is famous for being the only inn surrounded completely by fifty lakes," she calmly said.

"F-f-fifty lakes!?!" they shouted out.

"I'm sorry but that's impossible…" Ishida said.

"Of course it is, that was a joke," the innkeeper said.

Chad began to laugh under through his teeth.

"Geez Chad, why don't you marry her, you both have that asshole sense of humor," Ishida said.

"This hotel only has about ten miniature lakes surrounding it, the most romantic ones couples go to is the Glitter Spark Lake in the at the Western side," she said.

"That's probably where Ichigo is!" Rukia responded to the bum's information. She decided to make her way towards the Glitter Spark Lake, in hopes of searching for Ichigo. Meanwhile Ichigo stood at the Cravin Lake at the East side of the forest, waitning for Rukia. That's when it hit him.

"Wait a minute….isn't this area famous for its lakes? Crap! I didn't tell her which one to go to!!" Ichigo shouted.


	8. Chapter 8:Prize for Her

Chapter 8: Prize for Her

Rukia ran through the bushes hoping that she wouldn't try Ichigo's patience but she couldn't help to blame him for not telling him which lake to go to. She quickly leapt over the fallen branches and vines that covered the dirt road. She finally emerged from the darkness of the forest to see a beautiful lake with fireflies hovering above and the sun lowering behind the mountains.

"How romantic…is there where Ichigo plans to make his move?" Rukia asked herself as she admired the falling sun's rays of orange as night drew closer. She could see numerous couples scattered apart, holding each other and whispering little things into each others' ears. Rukia just watched with envy as she waited for Ichigo, the man she never knew had such a romantic side.

A mile away Ichigo was wiping the dog crap off the back of his pants.

"Who the hell lets a dog do that here?!" he yelled as he grabbed onto another large leaf. "Shit! I still have no idea which lake Rukia is at….at this rate things'll get worst and I'll never know why she's acting so weird."

He picked up his speed, looking in every direction while making sure there was nothing in front of him, the last thing he needed was to hurt himself. Despite looking out the window back at the hotel he had no idea how large this forest was or how many lakes it had. His only hope was to search for each one and hope that by some chance Rukia was still there.

Rukia, in the meanwhile, sat down, enjoying the darkness that began to grow in the sky, stars seemingly pouring in with each fading second. "Maybe he's going to confess to me so I don't have to!" she said to herself, letting her girly fantasies warp her mind. She began to blush as she made sure to wipe any dirt off her dress.

"I can't look dirty, especially after looking like a fool on the bus," she instructed. She mustn't ruin this night, she wants to enjoy whatever Ichigo had called her for. "Maybe he'll bring me dinner or bashfully inch closer to me as the stars glow, or etc, etc, etc" Rukia went, letting time slip by as she came up with every fluffy situation she could imagine.

Ichigo tripped over a vine.

"Shit! How stupid can I be to trip over a damn vine?!" he scolded himself, ripping the vine into pieces out of anger. He lifted himself up again and ran through the forest, now yelling out Rukia's name, hoping to hear at least a fuss or scolding remark about how late he was. Forty minutes had already passed since the meeting time he set up for them.

More and more stars sparkled out of the dark space above Rukia as she hugged her knees, gazing at the natural beauty. She was too happy to do anything else and moving seemed like a hassle. She would look at the couples around her from time to time, imagining what they must be talking about.

"I wish the stars would realize they can't compete with you," one man would say.

"Are you cold? I'll go back to get my jacket," one boy would offer but the girl would shake her head in rejection and say "No, cuddling up with you is more than enough."

"Oh Matusmaru, because of you I can actually smile again," one girl would say, lightly tapping her lips against his cheeks.

But these were only fragments of Rukia's imagination, in reality the couples were discussing something a little more different.

"Come on baby….just once, we don't need protection." "I…I don't know about this…"

"The lake is so pretty, perfect place to make out." "Let's just watch the stars in peace you pervert."

"No Matsumaru….I'm tired of lending you money. I mean holy crap! I thought we could at least have one peaceful night without your jobless ass bothering me about cash!"

"Stop it Mimi! I'm married!" "That doesn't matter, I'm not!"

Fortunately Rukia did not hear the perverted and hate-filled words of those surrounding her. Far away Ichigo finally made it to the lake, unfortunately it was the wrong lake, no one was here but Ichigo could hear a rustling in the bushes. He walked over there and poked his head into the bushes.

"Aaaahhhh!" he screamed, backing off as far as possible.

Urahara poked his head out of the bush. "Kurosaki-kun, do you mind? Yoruichi and I are trying to have some fun." Urahara said. "Come back, we have to finish. We hardly ever get a chance to do this," Yoruichi said, her joyful tone sending shivers down Ichigo's back.

"Alright, let me just take my jacket off," Urahara said. Ichigo looked back into the bush to see the two playing chess. "What the hell?! You're playing chess?!" Ichigo barked. Urahara turned with a casual smile. "Of course, what did you think we were doing?"

Yoruichi devilishly smiled, looking into Ichigo's eyes, knowing that she was making him nervous. "Oh, I know exactly what he thought we were doing. That's why he poked his head back into the bushes, to see me naked," Yoruichi explained.

"That's not it!" Ichigo responded.

"I swear, you let a man see you naked once and he keeps coming back for more. Who knew Ichigo was such a pervert," Yoruichi said. "I feel sorry for poor Rukia, she has to sleep in the same house as him," Urahara said. The two laughed and returned back to playing their game of chess.

Ichigo walked off steamed, wanting to get as far away as possible, praying that Rukia was standing at the next lake, he didn't even care if she was angry enough to hit him he just wanted to find her already.

Rukia was beginning to realize that she was sitting there for an hour and a half, putting her watch down as looked at the grass move in the night breeze. "Maybe he changed his mind…" she muttered to herself. She began to think about what he said on the bus.

"_Hey listen up! There is nothing-"_

What was he going to say after that, before Urahara interrupted him. Was it something like there was nothing between him and her or that he felt nothing around her? She still didn't understand why humans reject their feelings so easily just to hide them. For as long as she knew Ichigo he was pretty straightforward. Why would he say something like that anyway?

After another hour the creeping feelings of rejection and shame seeped into her. She felt like he must have changed his mind and went back or ditched her so he could spend time without her for a change but none of this made any sense! That doesn't explain all the nice things he does for her. If he feigned kindness only to be nice those were times wasted. Rukia stood up and began to walk away from the lake.

Her footstep turned into heavy stomps and then gentle taps. She began to run, she just wanted to go back to her room and forget about that night. She was nearly out of the forest. Ichigo was just now making it to the spot where she once sat. He looked around to see no one he recognized but instead heard various curses and perverted whispers that he couldn't ignore. He decided to leave the area and start his search again.

He made it to the beginning of the forest where Rukia should have passed earlier but instead he found her on her hands and knees.

"Oi Rukia. What are you doing on the….wait a minute, are you alright?" he asked. He bent over next to her to see her crying. "Dammit! My dress! This has to happen to?!" she fussed.

"It's okay. You just gotta go back a d get it washed," Ichigo comforted. Rukia turned to him. "What the hell are you comforting me for? You're two and a half hours late!!" she fussed. "Yeah I know that, I'm sorry. Didn't realize this place was famous for eight lakes that were worlds apart from each other," he said.

"I-is that it? Is that the reason you never made it in time? Something stupid like that?" she furiously asked, expecting a stupid face and laidback response of "yeah" or "probably" but instead he lifted her up and held her in his arms.

"Yeah, sorry. I'll carry you back so you don't trip again or something, as payback," he said. Rukia felt herself calming down but still left with many questions. "Ichigo….why did you invite to the lake in the first place?" she asked. He turned his head away, luckily the night hid his red cheeks.

"Well, you seemed a little angry or something so….what the hell was wrong anyway?" he asked. Rukia looked up at him as he kept his head away from her. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well, after we got off the bus you were acting you were depressed or something. What did I do?" he asked.

Rukia searched her memory until she realized that he didn't realized what was going on through her head at the time. She didn't want to say it but he would pester her about it until he figured out.

"Well….I was….you know,"

"No, what?"

"Humm…." She sighed, she was bracing herself. "You were about to say there was nothing between us. I guess I was sad to hear that there wasn't a chance for…um…something."

"Something? What kind of som- wait! You mean, you, you like me?!" he shouted out.

"Um….maybe not…but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to…try or…yes!" she blurted out. "I like you! A whole lot!"

Ichigo was stunned, he stared at her as she stared at him. He couldn't think, it's like he couldn't even feel his own mind or eyes move at all. His body felt different, almost warm yet immobile. If it weren't for her light weight he might have dropped her. He looked around to see the endless forest all around them.

"Crap! I have to find it!" he blurted out.

"What are you talking about?!" Rukia shrieked as he began to speedily run through the forest, evading every obstacle. She felt his tight grip and knew she was safe but wondered what was running through his mind. Ichigo finally exited the forest, he looked up at the stars in the night sky and then looked at Rukia.

"What's wrong Ichigo?" she asked.

Suddenly he lowered his head until he was in range to kiss her, pushing her head towards his. Rukia nearly jolted back but his hand at the back of her head wouldn't allow it. She felt the control over her body slip away but she had enough strength to grip onto his shirt. Her eyes slowly shut as she fell into ecstasy.


	9. Chapter 9:Resolve for Her

Chapter 9: Resolve for Her

After the two separated they were both speechless, Ichigo simply stared at her as if he killed her and Rukia stared back as if she was stabbed in the stomach. He had no idea why he did it or why he liked it, all he knew was that something big was going to happen now, something he probably didn't want.

"You…you kissed me!" she muttered. He continued to stare at her, shocked by his own actions. _"Shit, shit, shit!"_ he thought. "I can't believe you kissed me," Rukia said. The truth was, he couldn't believe it either. He didn't seem to have any control over himself temporarily, he couldn't tell his body to stop and his mind was somewhere else when he did it.

"Crap, I didn't mean it!" he said. Rukia raised a brow. "You didn't mean it? How the heck do you not mean a kiss?" she sarcastically asked, wondering why he was acting so weird all of a sudden. "Dammit, I mean it was a mistake that's what I mean," he said. "I didn't mean to kiss you."

"Why are you saying that?" she began to whimper, reverting back to the terrible feelings she had before as Ichigo still stared at her, trying to decipher everything that just happened. He gently placed her back on the ground and ran off. Rukia watched him run, now believing that he truly held no feelings for her. Then she remembered what Tatsuki had told her earlier.

"_He acts all cool and tough but around women he likes…heh heh, he acts really shy," Tatsuki grinned._

Rukia smiled now, watching as the bashful orange haired boy ran back to the inn, probably freaking out about what he just did and that's exactly what happened. He ran back into his room, running past Tatsuki and Orohime and slamming the door behind him.

"Kurosaki-kun? Aren't you suppose to be with Rukia?" Ishida asked, moving his knight on the chess board, awaiting Chad's next move. "When did you two start playing chess?" Ichigo asked. "The day we realized we didn't have Rukias of our own to keep us busy," Ishida said. "So where is she?" Chad asked.

"Well…I…." Ichigo began to stutter. "You must have done something stupid. You didn't even find her at the right lake right?" Urahara asked, sitting on the bed fanning himself. "Of course I found her but when I….What the hell?! How did you get here? Where's Yoruichi?!" Ichigo loudly asked.

"Why would Yoruichi be here?" Urahara asked. "What the….but I just saw you two playing chess in the bushes by the lake!" Ichigo revealed. Urahara just smiled. "I think you just see whatever you want to see, you never think of how others might feel," Urahara said.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Ichigo asked. "Shit, I kissed Rukia!" he exclaimed. The guys all turned their heads, raising their brows and Ishida was growing a small grin. "Well, well, it seems our Ichigo is all grown up," Chad said, returning to his game of chess. "I always knew those two would do something," Ishida said as he fixed his glasses and returned to playing chess as well. Ichigo just watched as they continued on with their lives.

"Don't you understand?! That was the weirdest moment of my life!! I couldn't even control myself, I just did it!!" Ichigo shouted out. "Holy shit! It was so sudden, she probably thinks I'm some freakin' pervert or something!" Ichigo suddenly realized what he had to do, he had to clear the air with Rukia. He grabbed the doorknob and ran out of the room.

When he made it to the main room of the inn he could see Rukia walking up with Tatsuki and Orihime. _"Oh shit, I left her outside with that dirty dress! Tatsuki's going to think I pushed her or something! Shit!"_ he thought to himself. That second that thought finished he could see Tatsuki giving him a nasty glare from across the room, he was in trouble now. Despite trying to act cool he didn't want to get hit by Tatsuki for a misunderstanding or for her to think he was some jerk ass

He slowly inched away until he was out of her sight and quickly walked back to the room. He opened the door but felt a force pulling back, trying to enter the room. He knew it was Tatsuki so he quickly overpowered her and slammed the door shut, making sure to lock it. He could hear her fussing and beating at the door.

"Ichigo you asshole, you come out here for your beatdown, I'll kick your ass!" Tatsuki yelled out. Ishida decided to have some fun with this. "I'd like to see you try, how the hell is a girl going to beat me, the Orange Range?" Ishida said, impersonating Ichigo as well as he could. "What did you say?!" she shouted, beating the door down once more, now harder than usual.

"Shit! She thinks I did something bad!" Ichigo said, sitting on the door to make sure she didn't burst in. The fussing continued for three minutes until it suddenly stopped. Ichigo was almost tempted to open the door to see what was wrong but he could still hear her voice outside. There was also another voice too, a more gentler voice.

"Oh, well if that's case I don't need to thrash him. Okay then. Good night Rukia," Tatsuki said. Ichigo could hear footsteps walking into the distance. Urahara suddenly turned his head towards Ichigo. "Remember what I told you," he said. Ichigo looked at him in a puzzled manner but ignored it as he heard Rukia's voice from the other side.

"Hey Ichigo, want to buy me dinner or something, I haven't eaten and you have all the money," she said in a sincere manner. He was surprised she sounded so sincere and started to get up, this was the perfect chance to make up some excuse for kissing her. He opened the door to see her wearing a new outfit and a smile. He walked with her into the cafeteria where they grabbed some trays and picked what they wanted to eat but Ichigo really wasn't in the mood to touch food so he grabbed an apple and some water. He noticed that Rukia hadn't stopped smiling, even when they sat at the table.

"Something's wrong here…" he mumbled to himself. He started to eat just so everything seemed normal but the awkwardness was pecking at him especially when he saw Rukia just staring at him, not even touching her own food. "Aren't you hungry?" he asked, trying to hide his anxiety. "Not right now," she coolly said. _"Shit! There's definitely something wrong!"_ he thought to himself.

"Alright, listen, it was just a mistake. I didn't know what I was doing! Don't think it means anything!" he blurted out. Rukia just continued to smile. "Why are you smiling?! It didn't mean anything!" he said. She just smiled some more, now she reached over from the table, bringing her lips closer to his but he laid as far back as possible. "I don't understand what you're trying to do! I said it was a mistake!" he said again. Rukia opened her eyes to see him trying his hardest to evade the kiss, maybe he was telling the truth.

Rukia stood up, leaving her tray behind and began walking off. Ichigo could sense it, he did something wrong again. He didn't mean to hurt her. He got up, leaving his tray behind and following her. He grabbed her wrist. "Hey wait up! I didn't mean what I say, I take it back!" he said.

"Yeah, I know…that's your problem," she muttered. "You never know what you mean and I'm supposed to figure it out." She was clearly angry, the tone in her voice grew deeper again. He couldn't say anything for a few seconds but he decided to do something instead. He kept his grip on her hand and pulled her along, taking her outside.

They walked back into the forest and towards the lake he went to earlier, staring at the rich environment it held and all the life it supported. He released Rukia from his grip and sat down. She did the same though she refused to look at him. He then remembered what  
Urahara said earlier: _"I think you just see whatever you want to see, you never think of how others might feel."_ It didn't make much sense when he said it earlier but now, now it seemed to apply to Ichigo. He looked at Rukia who sat there with her arms wrapped around her knees and her eyes fallen to the lake, she had changed from angry to depressed.

"I guess it's my fault then," he said. "I'm sorry."

Rukia rose her head up to see him, he looked as if he had more to say. "I guess I ignored your…..um….feelings, and…..I've been messing with you without even realizing it," he said. "Sorry."

"I just want to know something," Rukia started, her voice becoming gentle once more. "Do you like me too?" Ichigo paused, he didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything, what would he say it was too complicated, or maybe it didn't have to be, maybe he just needed some sort of push but he couldn't find one, he sat there speechless. "If you don't I'll leave right now and just end it here. We'll never talk about it again," she said raising herself up from the ground and walking away.

"Wait! Dammit! It's just hard to say okay? I like you, a whole lot! Don't leave." He said. She turned around and smiled, running back to where she was earlier and sitting next to him. "So, how about another kiss then?" she asked. "I don't think you chibi!" he said. "I knew Tatsuki was right you are shy!" she teased.

"Crap…" he muttered. He didn't know it was that obvious. "Oh well, this is good enough then," she said, moving closer until her head could rest on his arm. He always thought his feelings for her were one sided but he never considered that maybe there was a chance she liked him back. He looked at her as she slowly shut her eyes. "Hmm….it'll be a while before I kiss her again though," he said to himself.


End file.
